From Conformal Predictions to Confidence Regions

• Main Authors: Guille-Escuret, Charles, Ndiaye, Eugene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 28.05.2024
• Subjects: Computer Science - Learning; Statistics - Machine Learning; Statistics - Methodology
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2405.18601

Conformal prediction methodologies have significantly advanced the quantification of uncertainties in predictive models. Yet, the construction of confidence regions for model parameters presents a notable challenge, often necessitating stringent assumptions regarding data distribution or merely providing asymptotic guarantees. We introduce a novel approach termed CCR, which employs a combination of conformal prediction intervals for the model outputs to establish confidence regions for model parameters. We present coverage guarantees under minimal assumptions on noise and that is valid in finite sample regime. Our approach is applicable to both split conformal predictions and black-box methodologies including full or cross-conformal approaches. In the specific case of linear models, the derived confidence region manifests as the feasible set of a Mixed-Integer Linear Program (MILP), facilitating the deduction of confidence intervals for individual parameters and enabling robust optimization. We empirically compare CCR to recent advancements in challenging settings such as with heteroskedastic and non-Gaussian noise.